anne
Written on Aug 4, 2021
Welcome to the City of Sin, where casino families reign, gangs infest the streets ... and secrets hide in every shadow.
- ISBN10 1335499059
- ISBN13 9781335499059
- Publish Date 31 December 2018 (first published 10 April 2018)
- Publish Status Active
- Imprint Inkyard Press
- Edition First Time Trade ed.
- Format Paperback (US Trade)
- Pages 464
- Language English
Reviews
Quirky Cat
Written on Sep 14, 2020
The Shadow Game begins in Ace of Shades. Written by Amanda Foody, this is a series that swept fans off their feet. I'm admittedly joining the party late, as the last novel in this trilogy is set to release any date now (as I write this).
The City of Sin is an aptly named location. It's full of casinos, corrupted politicians, seedy businesses, and plenty of entertainment. It's no place for a debutante like Enne Salta. Yet this is the exact city she has found herself in.
Why? Her mother has gone missing, and she's on a quest to find her. The only clue she has is a name: Levi Glaisyer. That scrap of information, and a bucketful of hope, is all Enne has to go on.
For his part, Levi had no idea who Enne was before she walked in his door. All he wanted was to bring the Irons, his gang, to a new level of riches and fame. To prove himself to the world – and to himself.
“People do not play this game to win, my dear. They play this game not to lose.”
Warnings: There are some strong themes in this series, from control (magical abilities that grant varying degrees of control), to drug addiction, as well as pedophilia (which is rightly shown in a negative light here).
Ace of Shades is a novel I've been hearing a lot of talk about. As such, my hopes and expectations were raised fairly high. I was worried that I had raised them too high, but Ace of Shades proved to be a pleasant and delightful surprise.
Let's start with the world that Amanda Foody has created here. It's intense and brilliant, and I love it. I love the magical systems, the inheritance of magic, and just how complicated it all is. I love every single detail, and honestly I wouldn't complain about learning a little bit more.
As for the City of Sin, that is likewise fascinating, but for a different reason. It's the perfect place to showcase a variety of characters and abilities. All while putting Enne well outside of her comfort zone. Intentionally, of course.
Enne's character is complex and comes with many surprises. She is nothing like what she appears, and every time it seems I've got a grasp of her personality, she goes and surprises me all over again.
Then there's Levi. He's everything that Enne is not, and I don't mean that in a bad way. They're two sides of the same coin, yet are about as different as that coin would ever allow. It took longer for me to appreciate his character, though I don't think that's a bad thing.
That being said, I did instantly take to some of the secondary characters. In a way, I feel like the series shines through those characters. I'm not sure if that was intended to not, but I appreciated it regardless.
“All you know are stories, Enne told herself. And not all stories are true.”
Ace of Shades came with a thrilling ending, and it made me so grateful (for once) that I'm behind on a series. After all, now I'm able to dive right into King of Fools, no waiting necessary. Perfect.
Check out more reviews over at Quirky Cat's Fat Stacks
liz089
Written on Dec 9, 2019
I liked it, liked the concept with the powers, and the world, the Mizers etc.. but it did not really take hold of me. I had trouble connecting to the characters and found the concept more interesting then the execution of it.. It took me longer then I wanted to finish. Hope the second novel will be better.
tweetybugshouse
Written on Jun 7, 2019
Mackenzie
Written on Jul 9, 2018
I honestly can't 100% pinpoint what made me feel this way. In some ways I liked the characters, and in others I felt totally indifferent. It was a complex world that was explained, but also not explained at all. Also, the description makes it sound as if this book is all about the Shadow Game, but really it's not. That plays a small role. A lot of buildup was done for it, but even that fell flat - and in a way, too easy. I just....I honestly don't know. I think I'm interested enough to read the sequel, moreso because I'm more interested in the world's backstory than the plot/characters itself, but not sure I'm gonna be chomping at the bit to get it either.
kalventure
Written on Jun 24, 2018
"They say the city is a game, one only the reckless play."Friends, this book murdered me; I am a ghost typing up this review. This book has to be one of my biggest surprises of 2018 so far - it touched me deeply from the first sentences and kept me hooked until the end (and beyond, I am already stalking the 2019 sequel King of Fools).
Welcome to New Reynes, the City of Sin where gangs rule the streets and Casino Families rule everything else. Enne Salta's adoptive mother has failed to return home from a trip to New Reynes, but managed to send a letter home with a name -- Levi Glaisyer -- so she heads to the City for her summer break to find Lourdes. This city isn't for the faint of heart, and Enne has to learn to navigate a place of games and secrets -- but will she be able to survive?
"If I'm not home in two months, I'm dead."This book has a strong start that sucked me in right away and kept me entranced until the last page with excellent pacing and characters with such depth that I felt like I knew them personally. Foody masterfully shares details of the world slowly and succinctly so that it never feels like an info dump and the world itself is described so well that I feel like I could walk the streets myself.
The book is told in the alternating perspectives of Enne Salta and Levi Glaisyer, characters that are as different as night and day but thrust together due because Lourdes wrote his name on a letter.
--> Enne has been thrust into a world and situation that she wasn't meant for in the search to find her mother. 17 years old, dancer from finishing school looking forward to her debut in society. She has a serious sweet tooth and I love her grit and determination to find her mother as a stranger in a strange land.
--> Levi has been hardened by his years, a master of cards and the head of the Irons. He is almost 18 and has aspirations to make something of himself. Levi is black and bisexual and I adore his compassion.
There is also a cast of secondary characters just as rich, loveable, and flawed. Jac is Levi's best friend and absolutely a gem, and Lola is the reluctant addition to the trio. I really look forward to seeing more of their backstory in [b:King of Fools|37545571|King of Fools (The Shadow Game, #2)|Amanda Foody|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1530205230s/37545571.jpg|59149219].
"All you know is stories, Enne told herself. And not all stories are true."The magic system in this world is hereditary, and each person has a main talent and a split talent. The main talent is denoted by a person's surname and is an easy way to assess a person's position in society.
Foody created a new fantasy world with a rich and deep history/mythology, and I will admit that at times it was a bit difficult to keep everything straight even though the worldbuilding is done slowly and builds upon nuggets of knowledge introduced earlier.
cw: inferred pedophilia, drug use, gambling, loss of a loved one
I absolutely loved Ace of Shades - it is full of a characteristic that I lived for in fantasy: a vivid world, a complex political history, complex characters. It is a fast-paced story that has everything I love in fantasy executed well... just be sure to take notes so that you can keep everything straight as the worldbuilding is vast! This is a fantastic start to what I am sure will be an amazing trilogy, and I cannot wait to continue the series!
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sa090
Written on Apr 28, 2018
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I'm not going to sugar coat it, the book starts off very confusing. Of course it's not the actual plot line that's confusing thanks to the abundance of similar elements all over YA books, but rather it's the world and more specifically the talent system that needs some time to actually make sense. I enjoy when authors try to be clever with magic systems, it doesn't always work out for sure, but sometimes it interests me so much that I'm just hooked on that angle above everything else. That right there is why I continued reading Ace of Shades despite the beginning of the book not being that intriguingly different. Now that I finished it however, I can say that it gets better than the start.
The world building of the book is good in some spots and severely lacking in others, for instance, we're introduced to Amanda Foody's world where shady politics are all over the place, gang wars are very appearent instead, Don's and Donna's and there is this huge existence in this world that is very important, BUT it's never the center of attention enough for it to be a tangible thing... Some characters literally refuse to discuss it further because it's "dangerous" which to me personally is just a waste of the time and pages it took to make it this relevant. I know that some things are better explored or rather revealed at a slower pace, but I'd much prefer it if it was discussed in a manner that emphasized that aim instead of just blantaly avoiding it.
She does a pretty good job when it comes to New Reynes itself with how she took the time to explain the gangs and further explore a couple of them, how she discussed the mob bosses, The Shadow Game and how she discussed some of the talents, but I really wish she expanded more on the monarchs and the curreny system she had going on, I did get the basics of each but it's certainly not enough.
Like I mentioned earlier the book is not completely original given the demographic it was written for in both plot (you can easily predict what’s going to happen) and eventual main character development, but with how Amelia Foody blended in her new things, she still managed to entertain me to an extent with the journey I took with her characters. There are quite a few characters in the book, and while the majority is not explored in the same way I hoped, they still get enough of a focus for them to feel like they are their own entities. Our main heroine, Enne, starts off somewhat haughty and pathetic but she eventually starts hardening because of her experiences in the 10 days she spends in New Reynes and ends up being a force to be reckoned with, although I do think that the 10 days should've been 10 months to make the transition seem more realistic. I did enjoy how her relationship developed with Lola, and I'm definitely looking forward to see where they go from here.
Levi on the other hand is a very diverse charatcer, and although I really just hope for a good time whenever I pick up a book instead of being rigid about the existence of diversity or not, I can say that Amelia Foody's representation of him in this way was intentional, she didn't add the diversity as a last offhand thought. My issue with his charatcer though is that he's very nice and he's very kind which is a direct contradiction to how he's painted to be, and makes the position he is in seem like a joke because there is no way it should be a thing and makes how he get there in the first place one of the biggest mysteries the series has got that is yet to be revealed. Because it's YA, a romance has to be there and I both like and dislike how Amanda Foody went with it. I don’t like how much of an insta-love it was and I didn’t like how there has to be a mention of this attraction and a battle with feelings every time the two of them were alone despite the fact that there are much more important things happening.
That being said, I like the fact that it never really went anywhere, how Enne did her best to use her mind whenever her not-the-time feelings would try to get in the way and how Levi would give her the needed space as well. I don’t know how many books there will be in the series, but I really hope that now everything is out in the open we can start learning about the monarchs, volts and everything in between in bigger details.
Final rate: 3/5
Kelly
Written on Apr 16, 2018
New Reynes is notorious for the corruption of the innocent, a decrepit, polluted metropolis thriving on underworld corruption. Lourdes Alfero arrived in New Reynes on whispered secrets and a sheltered existence for adoptive daughter Erienne, attending a prestigious finishing school for young women. Sixteen year old Enne is a virtuous, aristocratic young woman pursuing her mother through the ostentatious streets of New Reynes, intoxicated by immorality, prohibition and inappropriate for modest young ladies of virtue.
Levi Glaisyer is the Iron Lord of New Reynes. Throughout the narrative, Enne and Levi develop a subtle companionship and attraction. A machiavellian luminary and an endearing young man, Levi is a disarmingly charismatic, professional charlatan and the surviving affiliation Enne has to her adoptive mother.
Each resident is recognised by their bisected capabilities, their abilities manifest through their individual heritage, from entertainers to illusionists to alchemists. Electrical currents are used as monetary value, extricated from the vitality of unsuspecting patrons of New Reynes. The corruption and anarchy of a metropolis is founded upon the illegal gambling industry. Within the kingdom, the monarchy and sympathisers were eradicated during the revolution, corruption infiltrating as the Augustine and Torren families reigned the Scarhands, Doves and the Iron syndicates. Beneath the atmospheric metropolis, an amalgamation of anonymous journalists whisper the atrocities of the anarchic new world, including the notorious Séance, a monarchist sympathiser.
Characters are eclectic and diversified. A bisexual protagonist of colour, gender fluidity and socioeconomic representation, a gentle reminder of the importance of inclusion within young adult narratives. Unfortunately an instance of implied paedophilia is present. Unbeknown to Enne, she is coerced into a abhorrent and vulnerable position with a paedophile, believing she is immensely younger than she appears. Although condemned during the narration, it's confronting, uncomfortable and unnecessary.
New Reynes is atmospheric and distinctly imagined, a city of debauchery and immorality. Wonderfully portrayed, vibrantly diversified and captivating until the final page.
Amber (The Literary Phoenix)
Written on Feb 16, 2018
Ace of Shades sets up a world where nobody is what they seem. Everyone wears a magic, everyone has a talent they hide, and everyone has sworn an oath. Whether it is to a street lord or one of the powerful casino families, oaths mean blood is spilled, loyalties are split, and nobody can be trusted. It makes the city fascinating, because you never really know who is a friend and who is going to pull a knife on you.
Amanda Foody's second book does not disappoint. She remains a world building master. New Reynes sparkles. Her magical systems are as fascinating as in Daughter of the Burning City, but in Ace of Shades we've only touched the surface of the amazing things the characters can do. Every street, every building has a personality and life of its own.
While New Reynes breathes, it is really Enne and Levi's growth that spurs the story forward. Erienne Abacus Salta enters the city cringing from the muck and corruptions, but as she seeks out her mother and becomes involved in the city, she slowly becomes a part of it. There were moments with Enne that completely took me by surprise. I expected a sweet, mild girl but Enne was anything but. This girl is fierce. Levi is a great match for her - he is both comfortable in his skin and cautious of the tricks of the city. There was a lot going on in Levi's storyline - from Enne to Vianca to Chaz. I really look forward to seeing more of Levi in this series, because I think his character has a lot of untapped potential.
Lola, Jac, and Raymond all deserve mentioning as excellent side characters.
My favorite part of this story was the Shadow Game itself. Amanda Foody is amazing at building a tense situation. It was completely not what I was expecting, but it was excellent. I have a feeling we'll be seeing more of this Game and the house in the future (I mean, the series is called "The Shadow Game") and I cannot wait.
Stephanie
Written on Dec 17, 2017
Vague review is vague, sorry y'all.